A reptile fossil found in the stomach ... of a larger reptile

The fossil of a thalattosaurian, a sort of sea lizard 4 m long, was discovered in the stomach of an ichthyosaur, a large marine reptile barely larger than itself. This finding reinforces the hypothesis that the ichthyosaur, which was about 5 m long, was arguably a predator.

“A greater number of ichthyosaurs than we thought were mega-predators,” explains Ryosuke Motani, paleontologist and co-author of the study published this Thursday in the journal iScience . “That is, they ate prey large like humans or larger. "

'Triassic Period drama': Fossil of giant lizard-like reptile found inside stomach of dolphin-like reptilehttps: //t.co/nUBwHMLOvv

Predator or scavenger?

Most of the large ichthyosaurs, which swam in the oceans more than 230 million years ago, "had blunt teeth," the researcher continues. “So we thought they were eating squid. But the presence of this 4 m prey, swallowed here without the head and tail, shows that it was undoubtedly as predatory as the crocodiles, with not very sharp teeth but powerful jaws.

Scientists say a fossil unearthed in China shows a savage encounter that's frozen in time https://t.co/MvAWacniM8 pic.twitter.com/5JKZ00mB9l

The large fossil was discovered in 2010 in a cliff in southwestern China, and was extracted in 2011. Researchers still speculate that the ichthyosaur could be a scavenger. But "there is no sign of rotting the prey," says Ryosuke Motani. “If it was a rotting carcass, the fingers would no longer be attached to the body. "

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